Okay, so I’ve been wanting to upgrade my home basketball court for a while now. I did some digging and decided to go with LVL (Laminated Veneer Lumber) hard maple wooden flooring. Here’s how the whole thing went down.

Prepping the Space

First things first, I had to get the area ready. I cleared out the old, cracked concrete that was there before. It was a bit of a pain, but I got it done with a sledgehammer and some elbow grease. Then, I made sure the ground was level. I used a long level and some gravel to even things out.

Laying Down the Subfloor

Next up, the subfloor. I used plywood for this. I screwed the plywood sheets down to the concrete, making sure they were nice and tight. This gives the maple flooring something solid to sit on.

Installing the LVL Hard Maple

Now for the fun part! I started laying down the LVL hard maple planks. These things are beautiful, by the way. I used a flooring nailer to secure them to the plywood subfloor. It’s important to leave a little gap around the edges for expansion and contraction, you know, because of the weather and stuff.

• Started at one end of the court and worked my way across.
• Made sure the planks were snug against each other.
• Used a rubber mallet to tap them into place when needed.

Sanding and Finishing

Once all the flooring was down, it was time for sanding. I rented a big floor sander from the hardware store. I went over the entire floor multiple times, starting with a coarse grit sandpaper and working my way up to a fine grit. This made the floor super smooth.

After sanding, I applied a few coats of polyurethane finish. This stuff protects the wood and gives it a nice, shiny look. I let each coat dry completely before applying the next one.

Painting the Lines

Finally, I painted the basketball court lines. I used painter’s tape to get those crisp lines. Took my time with this, because I didn’t want to mess it up. I measured everything out carefully, using a court diagram I found online as a template.

And that’s it! My brand-new LVL hard maple basketball court. It was a lot of work, but totally worth it. The floor looks amazing, and it’s so much better to play on than the old concrete. I am super excited to have some games on it now.